Sympathy for Icelanders Part IV: Cats and Vikings
by HaloFin17
Summary: Still a chronological continuation in the series, only now we get to see the other side of things. Gunnar's POV. Enjoy!


**Summary:** Still a chronological continuation in the series, only now we get to see the other side of things. Gunnar's POV. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing. How very sad.

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I lied. I really was planning to end the series with "Melting Ice" but when **galindapolupar** started her own Julie/Gunnar fic, it got my creative juices flowing again. Especially the parts with Sanderson, who's back playing a major role in what I do believe to be the final installment in the Sympathy Series. So here you are, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the change in perspective!

**Sympathy for the Icelanders: Part IV**

**Cats and Vikings**

I never dreamed I'd be hiding from my own teammates. Nevertheless, my footsteps were as silent as I could possibly make them while maneuvering through the dormitory hallways. In this particular instance, perhaps it could be advantageous to be "catlike." Not that I would know, of course; I had my dog back home, so cats had never exactly been appealing to me. Until possibly now.

Thus far undetected, I arrived at my dorm room, quietly pushed the door open...and was greeted in my own language by one of the two voices I had been praying most _not _to hear.

"Coach is looking for you."

So much for "catlike" stealth. "I'm sure he is."

"He wants to talk to you..."

"Well, _I_ don't particularly want to talk with _him_. Whatever he has to say, he can tell me later. Right now, I'd rather not think about it."

"I know. You'd rather think about that pretty little face instead."

My blood ran cold. How did he know? "What do you mean?"

Olaf laughed - hardly an appropriate response, but one I should have expected nonetheless. "Please, Gunnar, do you really think I don't know where you go when you want to shut out the world? Nothing's changed since we were ten."

I swallowed thickly, my tongue dry and heavy. "How much did you see?"

"Coach sent me over to look for you, and I got there just as the two of you were walking out. Back home, I might have called you a cute couple. Why? Did I miss the main event inside?"

"Shut up," I growled. Normally, his bantering wouldn't have bothered me; in fact, his rowdy humor contrasted with my characteristically quiet demeanor was one of the greatest complimentary aspects of our friendship. But now, I just wanted to hit him for it. Thankfully, I wasn't that stupid. It's been years since Olaf and I have fought in earnest, but I doubt the result would be any different now than it was then. Like he'd already said, nothing's really changed.

They say we Icelanders are decended from the Vikings of old, and if this is true, my best friend would have made our forefathers proud. He is the spitting image of everything a Viking should be - tall and strong in build, with fair blonde hair and frighteningly sharp blue eyes. He has also inherited their infamous warlike spirit and volatile temper, which my own have never equaled. I can outhink him in the classroom, and I can outmaneuver him on the ice, both of which I have done many times before...but I cannot best him in a fight. Not if we are both willing.

And Olaf was indeed willing. I could see it in the calculating coldness of his eyes, in the deceptively relaxed set of his shoulders. God, I know him too well! He would take the bait, if I offered him any. I chose to put up a bold front instead. It was my only option, really, and with him, it was the only one that might actually work. So I pulled off my shirt and reached for a clean one, wisely choosing to let him talk.

"He will ask me if I've seen you. I already lied to him once about seeing you at the ice rink."

"And how many times have I lied to cover up for you?" I retorted hotly. The correct answer was "too many to count," and we both knew it. "Besides, no one can lie better than you."

I tried to keep my tone light and teasing, but his expression only darkened dangerously. "I don't think he believed me last time; he definitely won't be fooled again."

I sighed, impatient and unwilling to put up with all of this. It was time we got right down to the point. "You're not going to tell on me, are you, Olaf?"

My roommate hesitated, for even he couldn't turn in cold blood against the person who'd been his best friend for nearly seven years. That knowledge, at least, brought me some hope.

"Whatever," he eventually waved me off. "Have your fun with her and move on like you always do. I don't care."

I winced internally at the way he made the whole situation sound, but the indignation was hardly justified. My track record honestly didn't give him any reason to say differently. But this one _would _be different - I had already promised myself that. I had even exchanged addresses and phone numbers with her over breakfast. Although, granted, between the time difference and both our hectic school and hockey schedules, talking to her over the phone would most likely have to be a rare treat. Please, couldn't someone invent a faster way of communicating besides stuffing a physical letter into an envelpoe and sending it off on a hellishly long trip overseas?

"You're really going back to see her again, aren't you?"

"That's right. And I plan on spending the rest of the day with her, so don't expect me back anytime soon."

"I don't believe you..." He shook his head, sighing bitterly in resignation. "Just don't be too obvious about it, all right?"

The words stung, and I froze in the middle of tying my shoes. "Why? Is it that embarassing?"

"Well, yeah. But if anyone does see the two of you together, I don't want them thinking that you blew the game for her."

My stomach twisted so harshly it was almost painful. That thought had never even occurred to me.

"You don't really believe that, do you?" It was amazing how his opinion had suddenly become so vitally important to me.

Olaf held my gaze, his expression difficult even for me to discern.

"No," he answered at length, and much to my relief. "I don't. But I doubt the rest of the team would feel the same way."

"Will you tell them?" The question was a cautious one, because I'm still not sure what would have been worse: my teammates or my coach finding out about this little tryst.

My roommate chuckled, throwing me a glance of utter disapproval, but shook his head. "No - not here. But I'm not making any promises about once we get back to Reykjavik."

I detected a slight resurgence of Olaf's customary teasing amidst that threat, and it was difficult not to let him see how terribly relieved that made me. "Well, by the time we get home, it won't really matter," came my dry reply.

"Just keep it in mind, okay?" he insisted. "If not for your own sake, then for the rest of us. The publicity back home will be bad enough without the whole damn media here making a big romance out of it. Those idiots can't seem to leave anything alone."

I conceded. "I know. And I'll do my best, I promise. For the team's sake; my own reputation is already past saving."

_You were still the leading scorer for the whole tournament..._ The recent memory of a gentle voice echoed across my mind, but I immediately shook my head to silence it. She didn't understand. As much as I appreciated her encouragement and her good intentions, she just didn't understand.

I stood up and left the dorm without another word. Olaf did not try to stop me. He would never forget these past two days any more than I would, but I still took some small comfort in the fact that he had let me go. Because Lord knows he didn't have to. And I knew he would safeguard my secret for as long as I needed him to, as well. Our friendship is a strange one, I admit; but it is still a friendship nonetheless. We don't "keep score" per say, but I think there will always be a mutual understanding that we are each indebted to the other.

And so, even as I eagerly hurried onward to revel in the azure eyes of a Cat, I knew some part of me would forever remain behind - frozen in time and haunted by the eyes of a Viking.

**The End**

**(Take Two)**

**Author's End Note: **Well, I do realize this one didn't have quite the same "Happy Ending" type of feel that the first conclusion did, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out and very glad I went ahead with the idea. Hope you guys all liked it too, and we'll see if anything else comes along. So TTFN - Ta Ta For Now!


End file.
